Narrow elastic fabric for use as waistband in articles of apparel

ABSTRACT

A narrow elastic fabric for use as a waistband in an article of apparel comprising a set of warp yarns running in the direction of the length of the fabric interwoven with a set of filling yarns running in the direction of the width of the fabric. From 10 to 50 percent of the number of yarns in the warp set being elastic yarns with the remaining yarns nonelastic. The elastic yarns having a spandex core initially wrapped with a settable yarn. The warp and filling yarns being woven in a pronounced rib weave over at least a portion of the width of the fabric with the ribs running in the direction of the width of the fabric.

United States Patent Campbell, Sr. et al.

[ NARROW ELASTIC FABRIC FOR USE AS WAISTBAND IN ARTICLES OF APPAREL [75] Inventors: Roger G. Campbell, Sr.; Richard E. Goff, Jr.; Joseph A. Priestley, all of Barrington, R1.

[73] Assignee: Johnson & Johnson, New

Brunswick, NJ.

[22] Filed: May 26, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 146,938

[52] US. Cl. 139/421, 2/237 [51] Int. Cl. D03d 15/08, A4ld 1/06 [58] Field of Search 139/421-423; 57/140 B, 152, 163; 2/237, 221, 236

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS I 3,315,328 4/1967 lbrahim 57/163 X 3,199,548 8/1965 139/421 3,172,430 3/1965 Weidhaas 139/422 3,213,893 10/1965 Bellmore 139/421 X 2,418,187 4/1947 Moore ..-139/421 Jan. 29, 1974 1,716,816 6/1929 Chisholm 139/423 2,663,027 12/1953 P058011 3,527,045 9/1970 Wilson 57/152 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,426,301 12/1965 France 139/421 Primary Examiner-James Kee Chi Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert L. Minier [5 7] ABSTRACT A narrow elastic fabric for use as a waistband in an article of apparel comprising aset of warp yarns running in the direction of the length of the fabric interwoven with a set of filling yarns running in the direction of the width of the fabric. From 10 to 50 percent of the number of yarns in the warp set being elastic yarns with the remaining yarns nonelastic. The elastic yarns having a spandex core initially wrapped with a settable yarn. The warp and filling yarns being woven in a pronounced rib weave over at least a portion of the width of the fabric with the ribs running in the direction of the width of the fabric.

12 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures NARROW ELASTIC FABRIC FOR USE AS WAISTBAND IN ARTICLES OF APPAREL This invention relates to narrow elastic fabrics and more particularly to narrow elastic fabrics suitable for use as the waistband for articles of wearing apparel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Though the narrow elastic fabric of the present invention may be used, either by itself or in combination with other fabrics, in the body encircling portions of articles of apparel it will be here in described in its preferred specific use as the waistband for stretch trousers.

Trouser waistbands generally are made ffo m a plurality of layers of fabric. These layers comprise; a lining to provide stiffness and body in the waistband which is covered with a curtain fabric for appearance and to finish the waistband. The curtain fabric and lining fabric are sewn to the outer fabric to provide the waistband. In some instances yet another fabric may be incorporated in the waistband in order to prevent un- I sightly roll over of the waistband. This is generally a stiffer fabric and may have a curvalinear or concave cross-section so as to aid in reducing the roll over problem. Fabrics and waistbands of this type are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,129,434 and 3,155,986.

With the advant of the use of stretch materials such as double knit fabrics in trousers some stretch materials have been developed for use in waistbands to provide the desiredstiffness and stretch. One such material comprises mono-filament yarns running in the direction of the width of the fabric woven with textured synthetic stretch yarns running in the direction of the length of the fabric. The woven fabric is coated with a latex composition. The mono-filaments provide stiffness in the widthwise direction and the textured yarns and latex stretch in the lengthwise direction.

Another type of waistband which has been used in trousers is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,381. This waistband is an elastic fabric having a portion with less stretch than the remainder of the fabric and with a sewing portion between the stretch portions. The portion having less stretch is meant to extend above the outer trouser fabric and form the trouser waist while the portion having more stretch is inside the trousers to form the waistband.

The prior art waistbands generally suffer from one or more of the following deficiencies; poor washability, poor dry cleanability, lack of shrinkage control, lack of stiffness, lack of body, failure to prevent roll-over of the trousers, in sufficient elongation for use with stretch trousers, complicated manufacturing techniques of the material itself or of the waistband, excessive costs, poor recoverability and/or resilience and so forth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION We have discovered an improved waistband fabric which overcomes the above mentioned problems. Our improved waistband has good washability and dry cleanability with low shrinkage.

Our improved waistband has good stiffness in the widthwise direction. Our waistband has body, resilience and recoverability and resists roll-over of the waist portion of trousers.

Further our improved waistband though preferably used alone may be used in combination with other fabrics to form a trouser waistband. Our improved waistband is especially suitable for use in trousers made from stretch materials such as double knit fabrics. When our fabric is used along decorative patterns may be incorporated in the waistband to provide aesthetic affects in the final garment.

In accordance with the present invention our improved waistband is a narrow elastic fabric comprising a set of warp yarns running in the direction of the length of the fabric interwoven with a set of filling yarns running in the direction of the width of the fabric. The set of warp yarns comprises a plurality of yarns with 10 to 50 percent of the number of these yarns being elastic yarns and the remainder being non-elastic yarns commonly called binder yarns. The elastic yarns are wrapped yarns having a spandex core initially wrapped with a settable yarn. The settable yarns may be spun yarn, multi-filament yarn, or mono-filament yarn is settable; i.e., when the yarn is shrunk, heated or otherwise treated as is well known, it has greatly reduced shrinkage characteristics and tends to maintain a given configuration with little change under washing or dry cleaning procedures. Examples of such settable yarns are those made from nylon or polyester. The settable yarn may then be covered with other types of yarns such as cotton, rayon or synthetic yarns to give the final elastic yarn the desired hand as well as the desired cover and appearance in the final fabric. The binder yarns are non-elastic and generally spun yarns are used for the desired appearance although any of the spun, multi-filament or non-filament yarns of the natural artificial and synehetic fibers may be used. The filling yarns may be spun yarns or multi-filament yarns.

The warp and filling yarns are woven to produce the final narrow elastic fabric. Over at least a portion of the width of the fabric the warp and filling yarns are woven in a pronounced rib weave with the ribs running in the direction of the width of the fabric. These ribs are readily apparent to the naked eye. The remaining portion of the fabric may be woven in a fine rib weave or a plain weave as desired.

My new improved waistband fabric is produced using elastic yarns which have a spandex core and which have been wrapped at a predetermined amount of stretch. The wrapped elastic yarns are placed under tension during the weaving operation and a predetermined number of filling yarns, per inch of length, are woven with the warp yarns to provide the stretch desired in the final waistband. The fabric is finished by any of the known textile finishing operations, such as bleaching, dying, and so forth which incorporate a drying step at an elevated temperature to set the settable yarn which is used to initially wrap the spandex core of the elastic yarn.

The resultant fabric has from about five to 50 percent elongation in the direction of its length and preferably has a uniform modulus of elasticity across its width. The modulus of elasticity will be from about 1 to 5 pounds per inch of the width of the fabric at 15 percent elongation. The fabric has less than three percent shrinkage and is washable and dry cleanable and may be used alone or in combination with other fabrics such as linings etc. as the waistband for an article of apparel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be more fully described when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of a narrow elastic waistband fabric of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an embodiment of the narrow elastic waistband fabric of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the fabric of FIG. 2 as it would appear when sewn to the waist portion of a pair of trousers;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of another embodiment ofa narrow elastic waistband fabric of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the initial wrapping and final wrapping of an elastic core to produce an elastic yarn; and

FIG. 6 is a flow sheet depicting the various steps used to produce narrow elastic waistband fabrics in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings there is shown in FIG. 1 an enlarged plan view of a portion of the improved waistband fabric 10 of the present invention. It should be noted that the view shows only a portion of the fabric both across the width of the fabric and along its'length. The fabric comprises a set of warp yarns 11 interwoven with a set of filling yarns 12. The set of warp yarns contains elastic yarns 13 as previously described and nonelastic or binder yarns 14. In the left portion of the fabric as depicted in the Figure the elastic yarns are separated by four binder yarns whereas in the right portion of the fabric as depicted the elastic yarns are separated by two binder yarns. In the left portion the elastic yarns are woven four up and four down and in the right portion the elastic yarns are woven two up and two down. The binder yarns are woven one up and one down throughout the fabric. This weave produce a pronounced rib weave in the left portion as shown in the Figure with the rib 15 running in the direction of the width of the fabric and a fine rib weave pattern in the right portion of the fabric. The spacing of the elastic yarns, the weave used, and the elasticity of the yarns produces a fabric having uniform elongation and recovery and a uniform modulus of elasticity across the width of the fabric.

As previously described the core of the elastic yarn is spandex and the initial wrap of this core is with a settable yarn such as a polyester or nylon yarn. It is extremely important that a spandex core and not a rubber core be used in producing the waistband fabric of the present invention as the setting or initial wrapping yarn will tend to cut the rubber core and produce free ends of rubber which are abrasive and unsightly.

Spandex cores having a denier of from about 800 to 2,240 initially wrapped with a settable yarn having a denier of from about 75 to 200 or more, and covered with a cottom spun yarn produce satisfactory elastic yarns for use in producing the waistbands of the present invention. I

The binder yarns may be any of the spun, multifilament or mono-filament yarns. The criteria for determining the type of binder yarns used are cost, cover, hand, decorative effects desired in the final product and the like.

The filling yarns used are preferably spun yarns or multi-filament yarns to produce the desired stiffness, resilience, and recovery in the widthwise direction of the fabric. Generally it is preferred that about 900 denier yarns be used as the filling yarns although various other deniers may also be used.

The fabrics are woven using various different types of weaves and weave patterns. It is important that at least a portion of the fabric, across its width, be woven with a pronounced rib weave to produce a definite and pronounced rib in the fabric. The ribs run in the direction of the width of the fabric. The ribs, in the direction of the filling, are formed by the warp yarns passing alternately over and under a group of filling yarns. The ribs combined with the type of filling yarns used provide stiffness and resiliency in the widthwise direction of the fabric. The actual weave used in the rib portion will depend on many things, such as the size of the yarns being woven, the ratio of binder yarns to elastic yarns and so forth, though generally, four by four or higher weaves are desired to produce the rib.

Generally in weaving the fabric from about to 1 l0 warp yarns per inch are used with sufficient filling yarns per inch to produce the desired amount of elongation in the fabric.

Referring to FIG. 2 there is shown another embodi ment of a waistband 20 according to the present invention wherein the upper edge 21 is woven in a plain weave or a very fine rib weave. The upper edge of the fabric is used for sewing the waistband to the outer garment fabric. Directly beneath this upper band and running the length of the fabric is a rib weave portion 22 with the pronounced ribs 23 running in the direction of the width of the fabric. Immediately beneath this rib portion is another plain or fine rib woven portion 24 which if desired may have a decorative effect 25 such as a fine flower pattern or initials woven in this section. Immediately beneath the decorative section is another pronounced rib weave portion 26. The bottom edge 27 of the fabric is again a plain woven or fine rib portion which may be used for sewing or tacking the fabric in the final garment.

Referring to FIG. 3 there is shown a cross sectional view of the fabric depicted in FIG. 2 as sewn to an outer apparel fabric to form a waistband. The outer fabric 30 is folded over along its upper edge and the waistband 31 is directly sewn 32 to the folded edge to form the waistband of the garment. Other techniques may also be used for securing our improved waistband to the outer fabric. For example, the outer fabric may be folded a plurality of times, the waistband may be secured to the inside portion of the fold, and so forth. Furthermore, the bottom portion of the waistband may be tacked to the pants portion or other lining portions of the final trousers.

In FIG. 4 there is shown another embodiment of the narrow waistband fabric of the present invention. The upper half of the fabric 35 is woven in a pronounced rib weave 36 with the ribs 37 positioned in the direction of the width of the fabric. The bottom half of the fabric is woven in a fine rib weave and has adhered to its surface a' frictional material 38 in a sinuous pattern. The frictional material is used in this portion of the waistband to aid in the holding down of a shirt or a blouse by the waistband. It should be readily apparent that there are obvious methods of treating this inside surface of the waistband to produce a frictional holding of a shirt or a blouse.

In producing the narrow elastic fabrics of the present invention the first step is to produce a suitable elastic yarn. In FIG. 5 there is shown one technique for producing suitable elastic core yarns. As shown in this Figure the spandex core 50 is fed from a package 51 through an eye 52 to a pair of rolls 53 and 54. The core then passes about a guide roll 56 and upwardly in a vertical direction about another guide roll 57 to a pair of take-up rolls 58 and 59. From these take-up rolls the wrapped yarn is passed through an eye 60 and is wound on to a suitable package 61. The upper take-up rolls rotate faster than the lower take-up rolls to maintain the yarn under the desired tension during the wrapping operation. In producing the waistbands of the present invention the spandex core should be stretched to substantially its maximum elongation during the wrapping operation to produce the desired elongation in the final waistband. The yarn passing upwardly first passes through the center of a spindle 62. This spindle carries a package of the initial yarn 63 to be wrapped. The spindle rotates in the direction shown and wraps the yarn 63 about the stretched spandex core 50. The spandex core with its original wrap is passed vertically through a second spindle 64. The second spindle carries a package of the covering yarn 65 and rotates in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the first spindle. The second spindle wraps the desired covering yarn about the wrapped core to produce a yarn 66 having the desired hand and appearance.

In FIG. 6 there is shown a flow sheet depicting broadly the steps used in producing the narrow elastic waistband products of the present invention. The elastic yarns 70 and binder yarns,71 are put on suitable warp beams or other supply means for a narrow fabric loom. The filling yarn 72 is put on a suitable carrier and the warp and filling yarns woven in a narrow fabric loom 73. The resulting narrow woven elastic fabric is then put through a standard finishing operation 74 such as bleaching. dying, washing etc. These operations set the initial wrapping yarn of the core yarn. It is believed that this setting is accomplished in one of two ways; l) the use of water in most finishing operations tends to shrink the yarn about the core and set the core in place or; (2) the use of an elevated temperature of about 100 F in most finishing operations also sets the initially wrapped yarn in its place. It is theorized that a synthetic yarn such as a nylon or polyester yarn once shrunk or set about the spandex core maintains its configuration on subsequent washings and dry cleanings. Apparently the nylon or polyester does not relax or shrink even more on subsequent washings or when subjected to further elevated temperatures but maintains its set condition throughout the use of the fabric. The fabric is then incorporated 75 with an outer fabric as previously described to produce a waistband for trousers and the like.

The stretch or elasticity in the final product and the modulus or power required to stretch the final product will be dependent upon a number of things. These are (a) the amount or number of elastic yarns used in the warpwise direction and their distribution, (17) the degree of stretch in these elastic yarns; that is the tension they are wrapped under, (c) the type of weave used and (d) the number of picks or filling yarns per inch that are pounded into the fabric. Generally the picks will range anywhere from 50 to 250 picks per inch and preferably in the range of about to picks per inch. The new elastic waistbands are especially suitable for use as waistbands with apparel made from the double knit fabrics or similar stretch fabrics.

The following is an illustrative example of the waistband of the present invention.

EXAMPLE The elastic and non-elastic warps are set up to weave a narrow fabric in accordance with the present invention. The final fabric is to have a width of 2 /2 inches and approximately 250 warp yarns are used. Along ap proximately an inch and a quarter of the fabric the warp yarns are positioned with every fifth yarn being an elastic yarn with the remaining yarns over this section being nonelastic yarns and the remaining inch and a quarter of the fabric every third yarn is an elastic yarn and the two yarns inbetween are nonelastic or binder yarns. The elastic yarns used have a spandex core approximately l,680 denier, which has been initially wrapped with a 100 denier, multi-filament, nylon yarn and then top covered with three cotton yarns of 20/] count. The spandex core is wrapped while stretched to substantially its maximum elongation. The binder or nonelastic yarns are cotton yarns of 30/2 count. The filling yarns used are multi-filament rayon yarns of about 900/ denier. The finished fabric contains 90 picks or filling yarns to the inch. In that section of the fabric where every fifth yarn is elastic the binder yarns are woven in a'one by one weave and the elastic yarns' in a four by four weave. In that section of the fabric where every third yarn is an elastic yarn the binder yarns are woven in a one by one weave and the elastic yarns in a two by two weave. This overall weave produces a pronounced rib running the width of the fabric in that portion of the fabric containing one elastic yarn out of every five yarns whereas it produces a very fine rib weave in the remainder of the fabric.

The resultant fabric has less than three percent shrinkage, excellent wash characteristics and dry cleanability, and has a degree of elongation of about 43 percent with a power modulus or a force to stretch at 15 percent elongation of about 6.4 pounds. The fabric by itself, when sewn to the upper portion of a pair of trousers, makes an excellent waistband for double knit trousers.

The above detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only. No unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. A narrow elastic fabric suitable for use as a waistband for an article of apparel comprising; a set of warp yarns running in the direction of the length ofthe fabric interwoven with a set of filling yarns running in the direction of the width of the fabric, said set of warp yarns containing from 10 to 50 percent elastic yarns. said eEs t i c amsfima a spaHH X EQr E waaea 'wnha yarn that is set in its wrapped configuration, at least some of said elastic yarns of said warp set being woven with the filling yarns in a rib weave wherein the elastic yarns pass over at least four adjacent filling yarns to produce a pronounced rib over a portion of the width of said fabric with the rib running in the direction of the width of the fabric, whereby the fabric has stiffness and resiliency in its widthwise direction and less than three percent shrinkage in its lengthwise direction.

2. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 wherein the spandex core is wrapped with a polyester yarn.

3. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 wherein the spandex core iswrapped witha nylon yarn.

8. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 having a uniform modulus of elasticity across the width of the fabric.

9. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 having a modulus of elasticity in the lengthwise direction of the fabric of from 1 to 5 pounds per inch of fabric width at 15 percent elongation.

10. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 wherein the spandex core is wrapped with a nylon yarn and the filling yarns are multi-filament, rayon yarns.

l l. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim I having from about five to 50 percent elongation in the direction of the length of the fabric and a uniform modulus of elasticity across the width of the fabric of from about I to 5 pounds per inch of fabric width at 15 percent' elongation.

12. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 11 wherein the spandex core is wrapped with a nylon yarn and the filling yarns are multi-filament, rayon yarns. 

1. A narrow elastic fabric suitable for use as a waistband for an article of apparel comprising; a set of warp yarns running in the direction of the length of the fabric interwoven with a set of filling yarns running in the direction of the width of the fabric, said set of warp yarns containing from 10 to 50 percent elastic yarns, said elastic yarns having a spandex core wrapped with a yarn that is set in its wrapped configuration, at least some of said elastic yarns of said warp set being woven with the filling yarns in a rib weave wherein the elastic yarns pass over at least four adjacent filling yarns to produce a pronounced rib over a portion of the width of said fabric with the rib running in the direction of the width of the fabric, whereby the fabric has stiffness and resiliency in its widthwise direction and less than three percent shrinkage in its lengthwise direction.
 2. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 wherein the spandex core is wrapped with a polyester yarn.
 3. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 wherein the spandex core is wrapped with a nylon yarn.
 4. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 wherein the yarns in the warp set, other than the elastic yarns, are non-elastic, spun yarns.
 5. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 wherein the filling yarns are spun yarns.
 6. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 wherein the filling yarns are multi-filament yarns.
 7. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 having from about five to 50 percent elongation in the directon of its length.
 8. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 having a uniform modulus of elasticity across the width of the fabric.
 9. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 having a modulus of elasticity in the lengthwise direction of the fabric of from 1 to 5 pounds per inch of fabric width at 15 percent elongation.
 10. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 wherein the spandex core is wrapped with a nylon yarn and the filling yarns are multi-filament, rayon yarns.
 11. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 1 having from about five to 50 percent elongation in the direction of the length of the fabric and a uniform modulus of elasticity across the width of the fabric of from about 1 to 5 pounds per inch of fabric width at 15 percent elongation.
 12. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 11 wherein the spandex core is wrapped with a nylon yarn and the filling yarns are multi-filament, rayon yarns. 